Washington @ California preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 28, 2019 ) Washington 73, California 76

Washington’s bid to claim its second straight Pac-12 regular-season championship became much tougher earlier this week with news that starting point guard Quade Green has been ruled academically ineligible. After losing their first game without Green, the Huskies continue their Bay Area road swing on Saturday against California.

Freshman star forward Isaiah Stewart was held to a career-low four points on 2-of-8 shooting in Thursday’s 61-55 loss at Stanford, which outscored the Huskies 26-8 in the final nine minutes. The Huskies turned in a dominant performance in last Sunday’s 72-40 victory over USC but stumbled down the stretch minus Green, who will miss the remainder of the regular season and the Pac-12 tournament. “It’s a little bit different (without Quade),” coach Mike Hopkins told reporters. “It’s got to be by committee. For the most part, the defense was great (against Stanford), but I don’t know what happened offensively. The air went out of the balloon.” Washington looks to regroup in time to face Cal, which recorded its first victory since Dec. 11 with Thursday’s 73-66 win over Washington State.

TV: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network

ABOUT WASHINGTON (11-5, 1-2 Pac-12): Sophomore Elijah Hardy made his first career start in place of Green against Stanford and shared time at the point with Jaden McDaniels and Hameir Wright. “We had so many different lineups in there that it looked like scrambled eggs at times,” Hopkins told reporters. “That’s what happens when you lose a guy like Quade. Elijah did a good job, on defense especially, but he had a couple breakdowns. It’s a tough situation to be in. It’s hard to lose your starter.” McDaniels recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

ABOUT CAL (7-8, 1-1): Guard Matt Bradley snapped a lengthy shooting slump with a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds against Washington State while guard Paris Austin added 17 points and forward Grant Anticevich scored 12 as the Bears ended a four-game losing streak. Austin has struggled to find his shot this season but scored 12 points in the first half on Thursday and could be a key factor off the bench against the Huskies. Coach Mark Fox was also encouraged by the play of freshman guard Joel Brown, who had seven points, five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cal owns an 85-81 lead in the all-time series and won the last meeting between the teams 76-73 in Berkeley on Feb. 28, 2019.

2. Washington committed a season-high-tying 21 turnovers in Thursday’s loss to Stanford.

3. Cal is 7-2 at home this season and 0-6 away from Haas Pavilion.

PREDICTION: Washington 81, Cal 63